Convertible baby crib and playpen



Sept. 1, 1959 E. s. woon, JR I' 901355 I CONVERTIBLE BABY CRIB ANB PLAYPEN- Filed July 1s, 1955 l. @Sheets-sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

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E. S. WOOD, JR

CONVERTIBLE BABY CRIB AND PLAYPEN Sept. l, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 13. 1955 e lvl, w

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Sept. 1, 1959 E. s. wooD, JR 2,901,755

. CONVERTIBLE BABY CRIB AND PLAYPEN Filed July 13. 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 190 INVENTOR. E/waoa 5. Waco/Jl: BY 92 /QZ/Q@ Sept. 1, 1959 E. s. wooD, JR 2,901,755

CONVERTIBLE BABY CRIB AND PLAYPEN Filed July 13, 1955 .6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Sept. 1, 1959 E. s. wooD, JR

CONVERTIBLE BABY CRIB AND PLAYPEN 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 13, 1955 Y .1 Il .wIlL l l f I I l Il INVENTOR. E/wooa .5.'Woo0/Jr.

BY /Q/ Sept- 1, 1959 Y E. s. woon, JR 2,901,755

CONVERTIBLE BABY CRIB AND PLAYPEN Filed .my 1s, 1955 e sheets-sheet s d@ Q D KJ :L We l' Y! c l fr N l W l i @i lgw Si INVENTLR. `1 f E/wm/ 5. waag/. BY kp y wr/zey.

United States Patent C 2,901,755 CONVERTIBLE BABY CRIB AND PLAYPEN Elwood Ys. wood, if., Norfolk, vo. Application July 13, 195.5, Serial No. 521,736

.This invention relates toa convertible baby crib and play pen, having novel features of construction herein- Vafter described.v

Vto the crib Without the use of any tools.

Yet lanother object is to provide a construction of this type wherein all of thezcorners ofthe crib vand play pen are rounded, and wherein there are no projecting elements of the sides or ends, ie., all surfaces are substantially smooth surfaces.

A further object is to provide a construction 'of this type having means fordropping portions of the sides without disturbing other elements of the crib or play pen.

Other objects will appear hereinafter throughout the specification.

rIn the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the crib with the mattress removed; i

Figure Zis a side elevation of the crib Vwith Aparts broken away;

Figures 2A, 2B, 2 A-A andZB-B show` enlarged, detail views of the rounded corners `at theupper andlowerexvtremities of lthe convertible crib andplaynpen;

` Figure 3 is a top elevation of the parts in ,folded position;

Figure 4 is anenlarged vertical section of vthe central sidehing'es with the slidable cover-.therefor n position to expose the'parts;

Figure 5 'i's a sectional view on the line 5+-,5 of Figtire 4;

` I Figure 6 savvievv siinilarto Figure 4, with the cover Figure 101s a @idonei/orion of the tooo stretcher and` .with parts'broken away;

Figure 1.1 is a 'side elevation of the structure shown in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a top plan vView of the crib;

FigurelB lisfa detail of one'of vthe ends ofthe con-o .vertible criband play pen showing a t'elescdping leg ele- ,mentin vertical section; 1

Figure .14 is ak .horizontal section taken on the line Patented Sept. 1, 1959 VMice Figure 15 is a top plan view of the playpen;

Figure 16 is a side elevation of one oftheinsertable play pen end sections;

Figure 17 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Figure 1.6; j

Figure 18 is a vertical section, lpartly,broken away, of the lapped plates in the play pen bottom, taken on the line 18-18 of vFigure 15; and

0f ,the @stead pi Qf Figure 19 is adetailedview the telescoping leg.

The convertible baby crib and playpenhasbeen provided to make `available a full vsize d baby Acribthat is `s o designed and constructed that itrnay be readily moved through conventionaldoorswithout being dismantled,

.folded withoutbeing dismantled, with two s rnall sections of the stretchers, `into a lsn'iall compact yunit that may be covered with a suitable bag of canvas orother material having a handle, tothereby permit 4,carrying in the same ,manner as the conventional handbag.

ReferringtoFigures 1-14, inclusive, lwhich show t l ie crib construction, the crib as a whole is indicated by vthe kletter A. `Fhefcribor play vpenis supportedona ,plurality oflegs ldwhich are four number, and which are located attheusual corners ofthe device. Asshown in detail in Figures 13 and 14, each leg consists of an outer sleeve portion lzthatis provided with a slot 14, and lan inner sleeve portion 16,.the lower end ofwhich receives the yroller androllersupport designated bythe numeral 18. The inner sleeve .may be adjusted vertically in the outer sleeve bymealns ofthe `which slides 4in the slot and .vvhichrnay .be tightened by a quarter turn at eitherthetop. or bottomof theslot, ,for

. adjustment of` thesides of the crib.

The upper endof the outervsleevets over the eX- tended part ,of cornerwbar 26. Each corner ba-r forms one of a `series of vertically extend-ing bars i ndicat ed by the numeral 28 that formpartsfoftheends of thedevice Such vertical barsareconnected at. theiriupper and lower ends by horizontal barsvand 3 2.

Referring to'Figures l, 2 and 12, diametrically op- .posite corners 34 s iuchflasthe lowerleftv and upper right of these corners which have been enlarged. Corners 34, vas shownin Figures -2A and 2B, each consist of a pair of similarcurvedlinksAl) and v42 which are joinedby `the vhinge 36, and the lcorner 38 is joined .to the stud member by the hinge 37, as lseen in Figures 1 and 4.

Thejopp-osite end of each link is directly connected to onegof the corner .bars 26 and these ends are also provided with stud posts 44, which posts are rigidly connected `to the links, and which frictionally engage l,the short bars 46 forming parts of the upper sides of the/ crib These bars ,46 are joined to intermediate bars l4% by the spring-loaded slip-lock device S0, shown in detail infFigureS, Where, as shown, the bar46 contains a springs-52, one .end of which abuts "against one of the ,verticallyexte'nding,barsozm and'itsoppo'site vend. bears against the spingstop ,54 which is held by a pin L56 to the 4lhandle 58. As shown in yFigure 8, the handle S8 maybe positioned to the left as the pin 56 willslid'ein j the slot-60, wherebythe said handle 'will move away from theprojection 66, forming yone end of the bar 48.

opposite end of the bar 48 has a connection, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, wherein the open end of this bar or tube has been closed by the hinge member 62 that p rojects from the end of the tube 48, and is held u n rigid position by any suitable means such as pinning, riveting,

brazing, welding, sweating or soldering.

The central post 64, shown in Figures 1 and 4, is provided with a projection 66 which is held rigidly to the bar or tube 64 in the same manner as part 62 is held in part 48. The projection 66 is provided with a head 68 having screw threaded apertures 70 for the reception of the headed Ascrews 72, each of which is provided with a cylindrical portion 74. The end `of the hinge member 62 is provided with a cylindrical aperture 76, whereby to permit rotation of Ithe bar 48 and the hinge member 62 on the cylindrical portion of the headed screw '72.

As viewed -in Figure 4, the other intermediate bar 48a is the same as bar 48, except that the slide cover 86 is provided with a slot 78 and a guide washer 80 is provided with a screw 82 which engages the guide washer and positions it on the intermediate bar 48a by a screw threaded aperture 84 in the intermediate bar 48a, as shown in Figure 5. By this means, the slide cover 86 is prevented from rotation on the intermediate bars 48 and 48a. The slide cover 86 may be slid from the full line position, as shown in Figure 4, to the dotted line position shown in the same figure, and as shown in full lines in Figure 6. In the position shown in Figure 6, all of the parts are covered so as to protect the hands of the infant and its clothing. This cover also serves, when in the position shown in Figure 6, to rigidly lock the two bars 48 and 48a.

It will be noted by referring to Figure 1 that the lower cover 86 is in its retracted position, and the upper cover 86 is in its closed or covered position.

The bottom of the crib which supports the mattress consists of a pair of longitudinal supports 88 which are held by the structure shown in Figures and 11. This structure includes a transverse channel 94) in `each end of each longitudinal support which has a spring clip 92 welded to the channel 90, whereby the end of each support 88 may be snapped over the lower horizontal bar 32, as shown in detail in Figures 10 and 11. The bottom of lthe crib can be adjusted to higher heights so that baby may be attended from bed or chair by resting the bottom assembly on studs 200 (Figure 1) in lieu of bar 32.

The longitudinal supports 88 are joined to each other by a plurality of transverse bars or tubes 94, 96 and 98. The central bar 96 may be detachably joined to the longitudinal bars 88 by the construction shown in detail in Figure 9. In this structure, the bars 88 are each provided with a stud 100 which is welded in place within the bar 88. Each stud is provided with a slot 102 for a plunger 104 which slides in the housing 106, -the latter being mounted on the transverse bar 96. The plunger 104 is moved back and forth by the handle 108 which slides in slot 110 of housing 106. By this means, the transverse bar 96 may be readily detached from the longitudinal bars 88.

As noted in Figures l and 2, when it is desired to drop either side, ythe pair of handles 56 on that side are slid away from each other. This will permit the portions 48 and 48a with the connecting parts indicated by the numeral 50, and other parts connected thereto, including the vertical bars 28 and the center post 64, to drop about four inches. When these drop, the guides 154, which are sleeves, slide on the rods 28a, with the pins 156 which are ailixed to parts 28a, sliding in slots 158, as `shown particularly in Figure 2. This movement is stopped when the sleeves engage the lower horizontal short bars 46. The nurse can then reach inside the cribto attend to the child vtherein without having to lean over the bars. The parts may then be restored to the l position shown in Figire 1, and the Sleeve 58 moved to the position shown in Figure 8.

As shown in `Figures 13, 14 and 19, the slot 14 is provided with an enlarged'lower end 14a, and the pin 20 has a head, as shown in Figure 19. When it is desired that the legs be lengthened for use with the crib, the part 16 is moved to the position shown in Figure 13, and the pin is rotated so that its head will engage the enlargement 14a, as shown in Figure 14.

Figures 15-19, inclusive, show the elements which permit the crib to be converted to Va play pen.

Referring to Figure 15, it will be noted that the play pen utilizes the ends of the crib, including the legs. In order to convert the device from the crib to the play pen, the bottom longitudinal and transverse members 88 and 94, 96 are allowed to remain in the crib, and to the play pen bottom additional longitudinal and transverse members 194) and 192, respectively, are added and form additional bottom supports. These are placed beside the members 88, 94 and 96, representing the original bottom members shown in Figure 1. These members are all provided with clips 92, as shown in Figure l5, so that they may be clipped to each other and to the ends of the play pen door member. This consists of four parts, namely four substantially square sheet metal parts indicated bythe numerals 124, 126, 128 and 130. The parts 124 and 126 are not directly connected to each other, as shown in Figure 18, part 124 has a depressed flange 132 on which the end 134 of ythe member 126 rests. The other elements, 128 and 130, are hinged to the members 124 and 126 by the continuous hinge 136. There is another hinge half the length of the hinge 136, designated by the numeral 138, which hinges the parts 128 and 130 to each other.

When it is desired to fold the parts in the position shown in Figure 3, the two parts 128 and 130 are moved over on top of the parts 124 and 126, and they are folded again to form a total area one-fourth of the area shown in Figure 15.

In order to convert the crib to a play pen wherein the play pen becomes substantially twice the width of the crib, as shown in Figure 15, the corners 34 and 38 are removed from the lower left or right ends, as shown in Figure 1, and each end is joined to one of the supplemental ends shown in Figure 16, as will be obvious from an inspection of these figures. The horizontal bars 30 and 32. and vertically extending bars 28 and two end pieces such as illustrated in Figures 16 and 17 are substituted for the ends which have been removed. This will double the width of what had been the crib, as shown in Figure 15. By reference to this figure, it will be seen that there are two bases including parts 88 and 96 and clips 92 connecting the same, whereby the two bases may be clipped to each other and to the bottom rail 144, as shown in Figure 16.

When all of these parts are separated, the sides shown in Figures 16 and 17 have been inserted, and the solid bottom portions designated as a whole as 122 and 124, shown in Figure 15, have been placed in position, the device may be used as a play pen. At this time the legs are collapsed, so that the bottom of the play pen will only be a few inches above the floor or other support upon which the play pen rests.

The vertical play pen sections shown in Figure 16 and indicated as an entirety by numeral are inserted. As will be noted, each section consists of upper and lower bars 142 and 144, respectively, which are permanently attached to the vertical or side bars 146. One or both ends of the side sections may be provided with stud members 148, or socket members 150.

When the crib has been converted to a play pen, each of the inner sleeve portions 16 is adjusted to its upper position wherein the upper end of the inner sleeve portion 16 bears against the stud 20. Suitable locking means indicated by reference numeral 152 as shown in Figure 16, may be used to lockthe stud members in their extended position. This locking means may comprise a conventional slide bolt on a bar 146 that engages a notch on the stud 148, all as shown at the upper right end of Figure 16. The pawl used may be a spring-loaded pawl or the pawl may be the same or similar to that illustrated in Figure 9 at 104, 106, 108, and 110.

With the construction shown, and as stated above, it is very easy to convert the crib to a play pen or the play pen to a crib, and such conversion may be obtained Without the use of any tools.

In a slight variation of the structure shown in Figure 1, the clips 92 at the ends of longitudinal supports 88, may be dispensed with. These supports may be shortened three or four inches at each end so that the socketed ends may engage any one of the studs 200. In this structure, parts 88 must be far enough apart from each other to permit the ends to engage the studs 200. In this manner, the mattress supporting frame may be held in various vertically adjusted positions.

It will be understood that a mattress such as a foam rubber mattress comprising two hinged sections may be used which will allow folding of the mattress, not shown, and that the material used in the construction of the convertible crib and play pen may be of such material as rust-proof metals, or plastics, or a combination of metals and plastics may be used.

The above description and drawings disclose a single embodiment of the invention, and specic language has been employed in describing the several features. It will, nevertheless, be understood that no limitations of the scope of the invention are thereby contemplated,

and that various alterations and modications may be made such as would occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

I claim:

1. A folding crib and playpen comprising a pair of side members, a pair of end members, said side members and end members being composed essentially of detachable tubular elements, means forming a bottom between said side members and end members, four pairs of upper and lower corners joining said side members to said end members, each pair of corners being curved whereby to join a side member to an end member, one corner of each pair of corners being located at the upper extremities and another at the lower extremities of its end member and side member, hinges located substantially centrally of diagonally located pairs of corners, hinges located substantially at one end of the other diagonally located pairs of corners, each of said last named hinges being positioned between its end member and one of said ",ide members whereby to permit compact folding of said side members and said end members when used as a crib or as a playpen, each of said side members comprising a plurality of side parts, pivot means pivotally connecting the side parts of each side member, a central post between the upper and lower side members, said post having a pair of oppositely extending flanges at its upper end, said pivot means including a pivot member supported by each ange and pivotally supporting one of said side parts, a sleeve slidable on one of said side parts which is pivotally supported by one of said pivot members, said sleeve being adapted to slidably engage over both of said pivot members whereby to protect the hands of a child from the same, and legs for supporting said folding crib and playpen.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said side members and end members are provided with means for detachably connecting said side members and end members to said corners.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said last named means comprises stud and socket means located at the adjacent abutting ends of said corners and the ends of said sides and said end members.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein said bottom is provided with supporting means when used as a crib and additional supporting means when said folding crib and playpen is used as a playpen.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 27,284 Gillespie Feb. 28, 1860 335,360 Jenkens Feb. 2, 1886 484,765 Kjmerly Oct. 18, 1892 955,076 Janes Apr. 12, 1910 1,388,783 Yeager Aug. 23, 1921 2,132,988 Leibo Oct. 11, 1938 2,291,233 Karlik July 28, 1942 2,493,083 Pascoo Ian. 3, 1950 2,598,999 Kelly June 3, 1952 2,659,903 Hagelfeldt Nov. 24, 1953 2,680,252 Hatton June 8, 1954 2,754,524 Densmore July 17, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 39,188 Sweden July 28, 1915 163,396 Germany Oct. 17, 1905 331,631 Germany Jan. 10, 1921 591,902 Germany Jan. 29, 1934 602,703 Great Britain June 1, 1948 605,133 France Feb. 13, 1926 698,781 Great Britain Oct. 21, 1953 

